In Foreign Fields – Dan Collins

There is no doubt that plenty of great acts of bravery have occurred over the years. The soldiers push fear to one side to complete their job. This could be from defending your position. It could be from attacking the enemy or dragging your wounded colleagues to safety.

In Foreign Fields touches on these stories. The book features twenty-five different soldiers from operations in recent years. Between them, they’ve earned medals during battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How is the Book Set Out?

Each soldier explains a short history of their life and how they ended up where they were. This is interspersed with quotes from the official citations. The soldiers tell it in their own words about how things happened.

It doesn’t bog you down in needless details. The action comes fast and the stories are short. They get to the point and get right in at the deep end.

You get to see the large-scale picture of certain battles. One soldier tells of how the enemy held them up in a building in Iraq during a mission.

They were running low on ammo and have an onslaught of the enemy trying to kill them.

You also have guys from the rescue patrol that went above and beyond. They performed excellently. While attempting to help rescue the stranded unit the soldiers earned their own bravery medals.

So is it Any Good?

In Foreign Fields is a great book if you like bags of action. It’s better than Task Force Black if you want to be entertained rather than informed. But Collins has also written a book you don’t have to read in one sitting or you forget what’s happening. There are twenty-five accounts of heroics. You can pick it up, read one or two and then leave it for a while.

It’s a good fitting for your bedside table to dip in and out of.

The book is written from the soldiers point of view and they tell their own stories in their own words. They explain how and why they made certain decisions on the battlefield. They also cover their thoughts afterwards from these situations.

British Forces on Op Telic 2003 – Where some of the medals were earned.

There are also some lighthearted parts. Everyone knows cheerfulness in the face of adversity is a great trait. It’s often found in British soldiers. To remain cracking the funnies when under heavy fire is what makes British forces what they are.